American Go E-Journal » U.S. Go Congress

U.S. Go Congress organizers are putting together a special memorial ceremony in honor of Nakamaya Noriyuki 7P at this year’s Congress. “Many have special memories of Nakayama’s love of go and he will be sorely missed,” says Director Karen Jordan. Send your Nakayama photos, stories, articles and remembrances (max 200 words) to Jordan at Director@gocongress.org with Nakayama Memories in the subject line. Deadline is July 10 for inclusion in the Nakayama scrapbook. The memorial ceremony is scheduled for the Go Congress on Sunday, August 1 at 3p. “The scrapbook will be available for viewing all week and will be presented as a gift for the Nihon Kiin at the Saturday Awards Banquet,” says Jordan.photo by Phil Straus

The American Go E-Journal’s Congress Team has a few openings left for game recorders, photographers and reporters as we again this year provide wall-to-wall coverage of this year’s 26th annual U.S. Go Congress, live from Colorado Springs, Colorado. We’ll broadcast top-board games in both the U.S. Open and North American Ing Cup every day on KGS, as well as publish reports, photos and game records daily on the website and in the E-Journal. If you’re interested, please email journal@usgo.org

There’s lots to do in and around Colorado Springs besides play go at the upcoming U.S. Go Congress, and Congress organizers are putting together the following sightseeing trips during the traditional Wednesday Day Off: tours of the Garden of the Gods, U.S. Air Force Academy, Manitou Cliff Dwellings (r), Cave of the Winds, Castle Rock Factory Outlets, Six Flags Elitch Gardens Theme Park, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver Zoo. Look for your chance to sign up at the Congress.

The opportunity to learn from top professional go players has always been a major attraction of the annual U.S. Go Congress, set this year for July 31 – August 8 in Colorado Springs, CO. This year’s roster of pros includes a very special visit by Yasumasa Hane 9P (right, in blue jacket) well-known as a major contributor in the development of the Chinese fuseki as well as the father of Naoki Hane 9P (far left, in tan jacket), the current Honinbo and a former holder of the Kisei and Tengen titles. Hane’s family — wife Masami 1k (left front), daughter Michiyo Yamamori 1k (back center) daughter-in-law Shigeko Hane 1P (back left, next to husband Naoki), and Shigeko’s daughters Ayaka 1k, Ranka 1k and Rinka 4k(center) — will also be attending and playing in the U.S. Open. “It’s a great honor to host such a famous and impressively strong go family,” says American Go Association President Allan Abramson. “We look forward to learning much from the Hane family.” Also attending the Congress this year are defending U.S. Open champion Myung Wan Kim 9P (US), Seong-yong Kim 9P of Korea, Ming Jiu Jiang 7P US, Yilun Yang 7P (US), Ryo Maeda 6P (Japan), Cheng Xiaoliu 6P (China), Jennie Shen 2P (US), Hui Ren Yang 1P (US), Cathy (Chen Shuo) Li 1P (China), and Qiao Shiyao 1P (China). CLICK HERE for details and to register for the U.S. Go Congress.- Chris Garlock; photo courtesy the Hane family. Includes reporting by Yuki Shigeno

“Register for this year’s 2010 U.S. Go Congress by midnight June 30 and save!” says Congress Director Karen Jordan. Base costs increased $50 after 6/15 and will increase $75 after 6/30 and $100 after 7/17. Registration for the Congress — set for July 31 – August 8 in Colorado Springs, CO — has now passed 300, including 12 professionals, 113 dan players and 138 kyus. Click here for the latest list of attendees. The Congress website is being regularly updated with new Congress information, like the Go Congress group rate for people coming to the Congress site from Denver International Airport. Click here for the website of the Congress shuttle service; the e-mail address is aairshuttle@aol.com. You may sign up and pay online. Questions about the Congress? Click here for answers to frequently asked questions.

Plans are afoot once again to stage the world premiere of “The Honinbo” http://www.usgo.org/resources/downloads/Honinbo.pdf go musical at the 2010 U.S. Go Congress. The full-scale parody of “The Mikado” was penned by former AGA president Bob High, and features a cast of go playing characters singing go-themed songs. “We have obtained cooperation from the UCCS Drama department to get facilities and some student assistance,” reports Chris Kirschner, who’s had a longtime dream of producing the musical. “Our job is to get a cast together and prepare to make good use of them. Plans are just starting, so we are looking for volunteers to launch this production. Mainly, we need people willing to get up on stage and play the parts. There are 10 named roles, and several choruses. Some musical ability is desirable, but don’t hesitate for lack of a voice of gold. And we will want some production people back-stage as well.” Contact Kirschner at operations@usgo.org for details.

KOREAN TEEN PARK JUNGHWAN WINS THIRD TITLE MATCH: Park Junghwan 5P (l) won’t be twenty until 2013, but he is already becoming a major player. Last year he won two Korean titles, the Siptan (Judan) Cup and the Chunwon (Tengen), and he has just successfully defended the Sibdang against challenger Lee Changho 9P with a score of 2-1. Lee won the first game of the match, but Park took the other two on January 9th and 10th. In the unusual structure of the Siptan, as last year’s winner, Park was seeded into the third round, so he had to win two games just to get into the title match.

IYAMA YUTA TAKES CLEAR LEAD IN HONINBO LEAGUE: In the eight-player round robin league to decide the next challenger for the Honinbo title in Japan, Meijin Iyama Yuta 9P has a 4-0 record with three games to go. Everyone else has at least one defeat. The closest competitor at this point is Yamashita Keigo 9P with a 3-1 record. He and Iyama have not yet met in the league. Yamashita currently holds both the Kisei and the Tengen titles. Iyama is Meijin and also won the Ryusei last year.- Bill Cobb, from Go News, GoGameWorld, Sensei’s Library

KONG JIE WINS SAMSUNG CUP: Kong Jie 9P defeated Qiu Jun to take the international Samsung Cup on December 17th. Both players are Chinese representatives. Only one non-Chinese made it to the semifinals: Lee Changho 9P of Korea, who was defeated 2-1 by Qiu. Kong defeated China’s Gu Li 9P 2-0 in the semifinals. Lee Sedol 9P of Korea won this event the two previous years, defeating Kong Jie in the finals last year. Overall, the Chinese have won the Samsung three times now, the Japanese twice and the Koreans nine times. This is Kong’s first win of a major international event. He also won the Asian TV Cup this year, defeating Lee Sedol, which prompted Kong’s promotion to 9P. Qiu has also won several titles, including the Chang-ki Cup last year; this is one of China’s most prestigious titles. Reaching the finals of the international Samsung Cup this year led to Qiu’s promotion to 9P.Bill Cobb, from Go News, GoGameWorld, Sensei’s Library.

YAMASHITA TAKES TENGEN FROM CHO U: Cho U 9P has lost another of his titles as Yamashita Keigo won the Tengen title match on December 22nd 3-2. All five games of the match were won by Black by resignation. It is surely painful for Cho to now be down to only three titles: Judan, Oza, and Gosei. For Yamashita it has been a hard struggle in the Tengen. He held this title in 2003, but lost it the next year. Then he was the unsuccessful challenger for three years in a row against Kono Rin 9P. Yamashita now holds both the Kisei and the Tengen. Cho can take some comfort from the fact that he is for the first time the challenger for the Kisei; that title match begins January 14th and gives Cho a chance for revenge. - Bill Cobb from Go News, GoGameWorld, Sensei’s Library

CHINESE LEAD IN JEONGGANJANG CUP: The Jeongganjang Cup is a win-and-continue team match for women pros. Japan, China, and Korea each send a five player team. The Chinese team has won this event three times, including last year, and the Koreans four times. The Japanese did take second place in 2007, but have never won. The Chinese started off well this year, with their first player, teenager Wang Chenxing 2P winning the first three games. Aoki Kikuyo 8P of Japan then won the last game in the first round–last year the Japanese team did not win a single game. No one managed a big streak in the second round: the Japanese team scored again when Mukai Chiaki 3P beat Kim Hyeoimin 5P of Korea, who won the only game for Korea in the first two rounds. The second round ended with Song Ronghui 5P of China (another teen) defeating Mukai. The final round is scheduled for early February. The Japanese and Koreans have only one player left: Suzuki Ayumi 4P for Japan and Park Jieun 9P for Korea. Song is up for China with two other players from her team in reserve. It will be surprising if the Chinese don’t repeat as the champions this time.Bill Cobb from Go News, GoGameWorld, Sensei’s Library

At a lecture at this year’s U.S. Go Congress, Takemiya Masaki (right) 9P insisted that it is very important in go to play where you want to, not where you think you ought to. He said that no one believes he is serious about this. It’s easy to understand why. The issue here is what it means to be a “honte” go player. First, think about why we play the game. Surely it’s because we enjoy it: no one is forcing us to play. Those of us at the Congress paid a lot to attend. Takemiya assumes we all agree with this, but he notices that a lot of players often seem to find playing an unpleasant and frustrating experience. He suggested this is because we are worried about where we should play next in the game. For many of us this worry is based in a concern about our ratings, which is what drives us to worry about winning the game we’re playing. It may well be that the excessive focus on ratings so characteristic of the current AGA culture – player rank was the most visible part of Congress ID badges — is the greatest barrier to enjoying playing. The solution is to quit worrying about ratings and winning. Instead, look over the board carefully, and play wherever you want to. Of course, this approach may lead to losses, but it’s the only way to become a real go player, playing your own style of go. This approach requires two essential things, which is where your feelings for the game come from: studying seriously and reviewing your games carefully. Seeing what does and doesn’t work shapes your feeling for the game in the direction that leads to better play. So don’t worry, be happy. Follow your feelings when you play and you’ll not only enjoy the game more, you’ll be a real go player and not someone who only thinks they are a go player.

A group of more than fifty Korean players will be attending – and competing in – the 2009 U.S. Go Congress in Washington, DC, Thomas Hsiang reports. Hsiang, the American Go Association’s Vice President on International Relations, helped arrange the Korean group visit and adds that “several leaders in the Korean Amateur Baduk Association have expressed interest in joining this group to hopefully inaugurate a permanent link between the US and Korean Baduk communities.” Strong Korean players have been a fixture of the European Go Congress for some years now. Another new development in Korea is the establishment of the “King’s Baduk Academy,” Hsiang tells the E-Journal. “Supported by a number of Korean sponsors, this is a 3-7 year program to train the truly devoted to become pro players and/or go teachers.” Each country is given up to one fully-funded slot for this program and other self-paying slots are available. Applications are being accepted through the end of 2008; stay tuned for more information in future EJ reports.